Long Courtesans Poems

Yosa Buson haiku translations

On the temple’s great bronze gong
a butterfly
snoozes.
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hard to describe:
this light sensation of being pinched
by a butterfly!
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Not to worry...

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Rejection
a roundel by Geoffrey Chaucer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Your beauty from your heart has so erased
Pity, that it's useless to complain;
For Pride now holds your mercy by a chain.

I'm guiltless, yet my sentence has...

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Veronica Franco translations

Veronica Franco (1546-1591) was a Venetian courtesan who wrote literary-quality poetry and prose.

Capitolo 19: A Courtesan's Love Lyric (I) 
by Veronica Franco
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

"I resolved to make a virtue of...

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Renee Vivien Translations


Song
by Renée Vivien
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

When the moon weeps,
illuminating flowers on the graves of the faithful,
my memories creep
back to you, wrapped in flightless wings.

It's getting late; soon we will sleep
(your eyes...

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Aha - argh... oh my dog...
don't mind me muttering, eh?

Earlier today (May 5th, 2020),
I forget thee exact hour
found me utterly beside mice elf,
matter of fact even at this moment,
yours truly doth feel mad at himself
cuz...

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Moulin Rouge

The greens and pinks magnetize to my eye
Like flowers abloom, in a field espied
That overwhelms creation’s invention
With beauty of grandiose dimension,
Shifting to the wind’s orchestrated movements,
And winks my soul agape by the performance
To be...

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In the gilded halls of the lush royal palace,
Portraits and busts of illustrious men,
Adorn the gardens and marble fireplaces,
But those of their wisdom no longer reign.

Withered are the founding principles,
Replaced by the capriciously whimsical,
The lofty...

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Alas morning has come, 
the treacherous storm has passed
Anticipation heightens my senses as the wind swirls past, 
The essence of musk engulfs me;
Replacing the aroma of sea salt that once filled the misty air
I am...

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The Boatman’s Song 					25/ Many

The Boatman left the chamber of the Queen
And vanished in the darkness, to give shape to his schemes
One by one his men got hold of all the Guards
Some of them were...

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Oh, my love, your intoxicating eyes,
Like lotus flowers, your lips, a treasure to the skies.
Your waist, a velvet lotus, your voice, a cuckoo's call,
Leaves me breathless, and in heaven's thrall.
Show me your mercy, give me...

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Les Bijoux (The Jewels)
by Charles Baudelaire
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

My lover nude and knowing my heart's whims
Wore nothing more than a few bright-flashing gems;
Her art was saving men despite their sins;
She ruled like harem...

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...a tribute to Hermann Hesse and his novel 'Narziss Und Goldmund.'

                        ...

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...a tribute to Hermann Hesse and his novel 'Narziss Und Goldmund.'


Two friends in early childhood when their lives were worry free,
each pursued his own direction to fulfill his destiny.
One was tempted by the devil to...

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You were born in a war ravaged state
You lost your man to the caprices of fate
You fell prey to your wayward ways
Victims of betrayal, greed or circumstances
You were drowned in the tide of darkness

Depraved incidents...

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POLLY WANT A CRACKER??

…and so they play
political musical chairs
uncostumed clowns
scampering about
like children,
pushing and shoving
accusing all
of acting like them.
Passing electronic notes
for all to see
while accusing others
of “leaking” information.
Feigning indignation
at the behavior
of their adversaries,
grandstanding before
a shepherdless congress,
Milling...

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The battlefield, never a place of beauty
Flowers grow, where blood did flow
And souls were taken, by sword and arrow
All in the name of a god, we shall meet too soon

Battle cries, as eagles sore
Hunting for...

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The lament of an evil man on the eve of death:

“It is twilight in paradise 
And the end of my idle life 
Of lavish pleasure is nigh. 
My dreams benighted, 
Crumbling before my eyes,
I sorely...

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Birds fruitless trees forsake, 
Swans and cranes leave dried lake,
Courtesans scarce to wealth-less cling,
Counsellors leave a corrupt king, 
Honey bees flee from lifeless flower,  
Beasts forsake a forest on fire, 
Motive-dunk men in self...

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the courtesans on the corner called him baby blue, 
though he cavorted around with a candid ecstasy
seldom seen under the streetlights or above the sewers of  town
though he bought rounds for all the bastards...

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Forgive my love for antique things.
But ancient visions light my mind.
Imagination spreads strong, spacious wings
And soars me backward where I find
Myself alive—in other lives behind.

I was a troubadour for kings, 
And at their sumptuous tables,...

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He plays by ear the courtesans whispered through the hall.
The wizard was astounded, he thought he had heard it all.
That bird is actually playing Beethoven’s Fifth? Asked Wiz McGall.
Yes, and he is doing it rather...

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